View full sizeTorsten Kjellstrand/The Oregonian/2008The elegant Lucier space, which includes a computerized creek, expansive city views and a large gold dome in front of the bar, could use a facelift, says broker Craig Sweitzer. "How do you make it more like Portlandia and less like Vegas? That's what's going to get this lease sold."

It's been nearly three years since Lucier, Portland's most expensive restaurant, closed its South Waterfront doors for good.

Now, for the first time, the Dussin Group -- which also owns the Old Spaghetti Factory chain -- has decided to put its lease on the 7,600-square-foot restaurant space on the market, turning to local brokerage firm Urban Works Real Estate for help finding a sublessee, or someone willing to buy the building outright from owner Onder Development, which would effectively end the lease.

Urban Works founder Craig Sweitzer talked last week about the challenge of selling a high-end space in a down market. Questions and answers have been edited.

What is the significance of Urban Works' involvement?

This is the first time Lucier's been listed with a brokerage company, which is a pretty significant step for the former tenant. For a while, they tried to lease it privately and quietly. That's actually very typical in large restaurant corporations. A lot of companies will have different concepts for restaurants if one doesn't work out. And, frankly, 50 percent don't (work out). But it got to a point where their growth as a company has picked up -- they're working on opening new locations worldwide -- and this isn't a particular priority for them.

What does the space need?

It needs a face-lift. The guys that designed it (Alvarez + Brock Design) were some of the best designers in the world, but the concept they created was very Las Vegas. It's got a river going through it with lights that change color with the sounds. There are etchings in the wall that change as the city lights change. It's unparalleled in what I've seen in 20 years in the business. There are restrooms with leather walls. It's just so fabulous and so horrible at the same time. The key for Lucier will be toning down the luxury. To create something that is fine dining in a casual atmosphere. How do you make it more like Portlandia and less like Vegas? That's what's going to get this lease sold.

When Lucier opened three years ago, there was no limit. No end. I don't know many restaurants that put in a computerized creek. The lighting system up above has wood shafts that come off the light in a circular design. The designer said that's supposed to be the currents in the water. There's a gold dome that's supposed to be Mount Hood. ... If this had been a public corporation that had done this, someone would have gone to jail.

What kind of restaurant would work in the space?

You have to be cautious about the types of restaurants you're talking to. You've got three residential towers here. This isn't the place you're going to put a Hooters. You don't want a lot of loud, drunk people. Lucier was perfect. Elegant. Unfortunately for OSF, the timing turned out to be horrible. After it opened, the economy took a downturn.

Urban Works is usually linked to smaller restaurant deals, such as Wafu (a Japanese restaurant that opened in August in Southeast Portland). What trends are you seeing in the restaurant industry right now?

There's a reason you're seeing all these casual cafes next door to higher-end restaurants. They're full; fine-dining, not so much. It's not just price. How we eat is different than what the concept was 20 years ago. People eat out more frequently and eat out with their families. You're not going to take your kid to a place with $30 to $40 entrees.

So who do you think will take over Lucier?

I think it will be a local group or a group out of San Francisco or Seattle looking for that first Portland site. It may be a chain. Or, you could see a brewery, someone brewing on site. We've seen good success with Deschutes Brewery or Hopworks (Urban Brewery). So we reach out to users that are similar in size that need the space. But most chains aren't expanding and growing right now.

The one thing that Lucier's got is, it's beautiful and it's already built out.